Participants will be given informed consent during the initial study visit. We will gather information about their seizure disorder and medications and provide them with instructions and a form that they will complete daily for two months (two menstrual cycles). During the third week of each menstrual cycle, they will be asked to return once to provide a blood sample.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 45 Years

Genders Eligible for Study:

Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Sampling Method:

Probability Sample

Study Population

Three regional epilepsy centers

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Women with epilepsy, 18-45 years of age. Women will be on one of 4 established (≥ 3 months) AED monotherapies: LTG, CBZ, PHT or LEV and with documented therapeutic range serum AED level during the year prior to enrollment.

Normal Control women, 18-45 years of age, in good general health by history

Exclusion Criteria:

Concomitant use of prescribed or OTC reproductive hormones

Concomitant use of antidepressant and anxiolytic medications such as SSRIs, bupropion, tricyclics, benzodiazepines

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00612235